I-Best Curriculum and Program Resources

Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) began as a pilot program at 10 community and technical colleges and has since been implemented in all 34 colleges in the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) system. The program was developed in response to studies performed by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges SBCTC that indicated that students were unlikely to complete a long-term basic skills class and then successfully transition to college level vocational programs. The I-BEST model challenges the traditional notion that students must first complete adult basic education or ESL before moving to college level course work. The I-BEST model pairs ESL or ABE instructors with vocational or content area instructors to co-teach college level vocational courses.

Early professional development focused on how to plan and develop an I-BEST program and the necessary elements to bring about a cultural shift bringing together Basic Skills and Professional/Technical education. Subsequent professional development included learning outcomes training for teachers and administrators.

I-BEST has historically been tied to economic development, with I-BEST courses at individual colleges aligning with high-wage, high-demand jobs within their communities. There will be a [JT1] just-in-time response to the economic stimulus package addressing, for example, green jobs.

The CoE for ICT is in the process of collecting I-Best Curriculum and Program Resource. If you would like to see your I-Best materials posted here, please contact us at [email protected].